Friday February 13, 2009 1:42 pm

Trade Reaction: Marion to Toronto, O’Neal to Miami

In a deal expected to be finalized Friday afternoon, the Miami Heat traded Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks to the Toronto Raptors for Jermaine O’Neal and Jamario Moon.

Has a guy ever been traded hours after hitting a game-winner? Well he has now.

Anyways, this trade better suits the Heat’s system, and fulfills Pat Riley’s desire for a big. But for Toronto, it makes them a legitimate playoff team. At the moment, they are second-to-last in the East, but only four games out of a playoff spot. This gives them a trio of Jose Calderon, Marion, and Chris Bosh that might be capable of going on a tear and making some noise.

As far as fantasy goes, one has to assume Marion’s numbers go up. We’ll likely see Bosh play some center and Marion play at the four, because behind O’Neal, was Jake Voskuhl on the depth chart. Winners here are Marion, Jason Kapono, and Joey Graham. They’ll be picking up Moon’s minutes plus some of the minutes created by the shifting around of Bosh to center.

On the Miami side, not much should change. They basically had no center, so this helps there. Michael Beasley might get some more minutes, and it remains to be seen if Moon starts. If not, Beasley would likely get the nod. This effectively kills any value that Jamaal Magloire and Joel Anthony had in deep leagues.